You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I've a 52 plate Honda civic (just the bog-standard 1.4 engine one), bought 2nd hand maybe 5 years ago, which has always been great until now I discover it needs the transmission replaced. Apparently, there were batches made at that time with faulty bearings somewhere in the transmission.
Garage is quoting about 700 quid, inc VAT to do it, which doesn't seem too bad to me for what sounds (to these clueless ears) like a big job. Paintwork and interior are all chipped and scratched to bits from years of carting bikes around and I just planned to keep it until it started to cost more than it was worth, if that makes sense, so if this fixes the issue its having I'd be happy to keep it.
Question is, does this sound like an economical repair or would I be better off looking at replacing it? Think its got around 60,000 miles on the clock - it doesn't see that much use during the week at the moment but does biggish weekend trips fairly frequently.
All advice welcome, cheers!
It's got a solid engine, £700 and you know the history and it's mainly for Bike transport too.
I have the same sort of thing with my old banger-bike transoprt only-only reason I have the car and I know it's mileage and history. It's older than yours and £600 new clutch soon and I'll consider scrapping it as it's not worth that in total. But buying a replacement car will cost a lot more and I only use one trip to shops once a week and bike all the time for the training.
Your car is worth more than £600. And £600 will you get you a dodgy car these days so I'd stay with it for just the bike haul.
Also see if Honda honoured any recalls?
Honda Civic Hatchback (00-05)
1. 1.4i E 3d Change
2. 2002/52 Change
3. Average mileage: 70,000 miles Change
4. Adjust for mileage and options Change
Original Price £9,995
Franchised Dealer £3,270
Independent Dealer £3,040
Private Good £2,665
Private Poor £2,085
Part Exchange £2,320
So £700 investment is a massive chunk of the price of the car. But then, if you know the rest of the car is sound and it will keep going for another 5 years...
What's it worth if you sell it now as is?
This is the problem, I've no idea what its worth at the moment.
Thinking the repair is probably the best option - its our only car and although no-one uses it for work, we've 2 small kids and need it to get around.
Its been completely reliable til now, reckon it'd cost a good deal more than 700 quid to replace it with something similar.
Fix it. Replacing it will cost you far more both short and long term.
defo get it fixed, 700 on a 2500/3000 car is good going!
not often you hear of honda's going wrong, Very reliable cars almost the reliability benchmark!
if its a known fault then have a natter with your local honda dealers as they may have either some info or offer part payment towards the repair etc?? gotta be worth a shot!
it could be just £700 and then it's fine again for the next however many years, but it could well be the first of many things that goes wrong with it.
from personal anecdotal experience, my advice is buy a new one. And new as in brand new (or pre-registered/ex demo), not 2/3 years old, i.e. with warranty.
I had a van for a year and i spent well over a grand in repairs on it in that time, each one was no more than a couple of hundred (apart from the water pump that was 500), but each one i thought would be the last thing - "I'll just get this done then it'll be fine". Never the case!
I get mine serviced on saturday mornings and they just do it while i wait and have a coffee in the showroom and read a paper, and it's 120 quid for a minor service and 200 for a major, that's all it needs spending on it. No phoning round backstreet garages for the best quote for a dauntingly major job, no faffing around with MOTs, etc etc.
Even little things, for instance one of the tail lights on the bike rack was a bit dodgy, didn't always come on, I deduced it was the tow bar to car at fault, so took it in - courtesy car for the day, they resoldered it, had it back the next day all washed, no charge. Even got a free bottle of oil.
With an old car i would have had to shop around for a garage that i thought could do it, hope that they could be trusted to do it properly, get from wherever it was to work, get back again, hope he didn't rip me off, etc. etc.
Much much more stress-free owning a new car. You've got initial capital or loan repayments to consider but you have to offset the repair bills against this. For me personally the repair bills to the van were almost as much as the loan repayments, the uncertainty of their recurrence and the benefits of a new one made it a no brainer.
There is a word for people who buy brand new cars and that word is, 'stupid'. The things depreciate massively as soon as they roll off the forecourt, you might as well just get bundles of tenners and set fire to them :-/